Most of My Major Mods (Majorly Massive Message)

[asorensen]

How is that for alliteration for you?

This is by no means all of the modifications I have done but since I had an about the home kind of day
I thought I would take a few photos and show you all some of the things I have done with (to) my van in the last two years of owning it.
So buckle in and here goes...


The first main thing I did was build a rack.





The rack is in need of a little paint these days but it has seen a lot of abuse (tree branches, boat loaded on top, etc) overall it has done very well.





The second priority was some onboard entertainment. I decided I wasn't interested in the new batch of small dvd players
based on the screen size. So.... I went for a 13" lcd tv I got from superstore for $190 and the smallest dvd player I could find from Crappy Tire.






As you can see I did build a case around it and a swivel bracket for prime viewing. The case really helps to handle the kicks that it gets from my
three year old!




Next on the list was to add some real tires(31"x10.5"x15") and locking hubs (montero hubs work)



I did very little to accommodate the larger tires aside from removing mud flaps, adjusting torsion bars and a small amount of metal relocation with a hammer!



At about this time I started to get a little concerned with exposed radiator after finding a dead robin in there and a few nicks out of the fan.
I had picked up what I thought was an interesting piece of metal from the recyclers and I realized it would fit the need pretty well. so I ended up with this...



It has worked very well for me although we don't have quite the same snow concern here then other parts of BC.


I did warn you that this was going to be a long post didn't I?


Carrying on. I have also removed the back bench from my van for more space and I had the concept of a modular rear end
which I could change around to suit the needs of the activity, trip etc. The first thing that I did was build a "camper unit" that is
light weight and held in with only two bolts. This means that it is fairly easy to move in and out of the van. It has a propane
stove with a small 5lb bottle, a sink (grey water drains onto the mud flap) with old school pump facet, a twenty litre aluminum water tank,
and plenty of storage.



This is not a great picture but you get the idea.



I also wanted to have something a little more rugged in the back for packing my outboard motor, tools, and what not.
So I built this liner out of 1/8" aluminum checker plate.


It is actually three pieces (base and two wheel well covers) so that I can get it in and out easily.
I managed to work in a couple D-rings for tying down items.



I have also built a bumper with a class II hitch and some tie down points for my boat.



I wanted it to look as stock as possible at the time so I reworked the original brackets added a beefier bar and the hitch.
I am planning a new bumper but I haven't totally figured it out yet it will be a suprise!


I have just recently built a couple of new rear shackles to bring the van up about 1.75" higher in the rear. Combined with the torsion bars re-indexed
I have the van at what I think is a perfect height for me.



I still need to replace the rear shocks but I have already done the fronts. I would like to get some beefier torsion bars at some point but they seem
to be a little bit of a challenge to find.

If you look closely in the previous photos you should also the veggie oil tank that resides where the spare used to. This is what the tank looks like:


And where I fill it:





The most recent item I have completed is removal of the front license plate bracket. I have not liked this item since I got the van.
It is always bent and seems to be a target for corrosion. So one day I got out the grinder and got rid of it!
I was able get the four spot welds nicely ground and painted up the area. I cut the license plate up a bit and hose clamped it around the bar.
Legal? I am not sure but the original plate was pretty far gone so if at some point I have to replace
this one so whatevs. (don't worry I have fixed the oil leak)



I think it is a whole pile cleaner looking than before. Speaking of clean! You will have noticed from the pictures that my van is definitely
not clean. It tends to get a little neglected in the winter time based on not wanting to clean it every time I go out (the roads I travel
are really that dirty)! Here is some proof that it does get some care and attention in the cleanliness department.






I also need to deal with the underside of the van and have bought rocker guard for the under side and wheel wells which will happen fairly soon!

I am currently working on a awing that I am really excited about. I got the material off of ebay; marine quality 9.5 yards of nice
black and grey for only $30. I also have a sail boat mast which will be perfect to house it all.
Also in the works is a bench for the wheel well opposite to the camper unit which will have a 12v cooler built in. As well I have
the old table from my VW which needs to get worked in before this summer.

Well I know this has been pretty long (maybe a record: any way of checking this?) post but I have enjoyed this van immensely, will continue to
and wanted to share some of that.

Thank you for looking.

Andy

[FalcoColumbarius]

Nice work, Asorensen. I appreciate your work as I have done similar stuff (but different). I doubt the carpet in the cargo bay is going to get stained now!

Falco.

[mararmeisto]

...The most recent item I have completed is removal of the front license plate bracket. I have not liked this item since I got the van.
It is always bent and seems to be a target for corrosion. So one day I got out the grinder and got rid of it!
I was able get the four spot welds nicely ground and painted up the area. I cut the license plate up a bit and hose clamped it around the bar.
Legal? I am not sure but the original plate was pretty far gone so if at some point I have to replace
this one so whatevs. (don't worry I have fixed the oil leak)...

Two things I do know about plates (after some reading and a bit of a warning): the BC plate cannot be obstructed, and the BC plate cannot be 'fixed' to look like it did when you originally got it from ICBC (ie, the letters are faded so you paint them back on).

Not sure about the wrapping-it-around-the-bush-bar treatment, but I have seen other vehicles (little rocket racers) with the plate folded up into a rectangle no larger than the letter/numbers and bolted into the grill at the bottom of their ground effect scoop.

I like the wind deflector on the roof rack. Was thinking of putting one of those on Moon Machine, to try to regain a little bit of aerodynamics back. I suspect it will do more to advertise than actually lessen drag...

[delicat]

Wow asorensen, really impress with all your mods!

I think my favorites are your roof rack and your bad ass flooring! But any of the other ones are equally impressive, very well done! (Being an Westy alumni that kitchen set up doesn't leave me indifferent...)

Thanks for contributing your ideas and project with the rest of us but don't get mad if they end up copied!!!

[BCDelica]

Awesome, thanks for posting up Andy! BTW, seen that TV in person was blown away by how well it fits how so many of us use our Delicas' - better then store bought plastic wrapped options.

Do you know the capacity of your WVO tank?

Cheers,
Kev

[asorensen]

Thanks for the responses Guys.

Do you know the capacity of your WVO tank?

Cheers,
Kev

Kev the tank is about eighty litres so fairly large! I have driven (starting with a full tank of desiel and oil) about for about 11 hours with out fuelling and I still had some veggie left. If only I didn't have to make stops for the kids I think I could probably drive 12 hours straight!

Thanks for contributing your ideas and project with the rest of us but don't get mad if they end up copied!!!

I don't mind delicat My Mom always said, "Imitation is the sincerest form of flatery" and I am not so sure of how many things were actually my idea anyways! I spent a lot of time on the uk websites when I first got my van and it must have leached into my subconcious. Case in point I put the checker plate in the back and I thought I had totally done an original thing then I realized that I had looked at these almost a year earlier and this is were the idea had come from.

http://www.photobox.co.uk/album/401142

Two things I do know about plates (after some reading and a bit of a warning): the BC plate cannot be obstructed, and the BC plate cannot be 'fixed' to look like it did when you originally got it from ICBC (ie, the letters are faded so you paint them back on).

Not sure about the wrapping-it-around-the-bush-bar treatment, but I have seen other vehicles (little rocket racers) with the plate folded up into a rectangle no larger than the letter/numbers and bolted into the grill at the bottom of their ground effect scoop.

As for the liscene plate I think it will be fine for now. At the first sign of an issue (legal) I will just get a new plate and put in some mounting brackets bellow the bar.

Andy

[JMK]

A very impressive list of Mod's. Just last night I was wishing I had some bright rear floodlights I could use to flash people tailgating me with their brights on.

Speaking of what's legal and not (re: the license plate mod). Be careful with the grey water mod. Not sure about the laws in BC, but if you're in any of the National Parks, under the Canada National Parks Act it is an offence to allow grey water to go directly onto the ground, and the ticket is not a specified penalty offence (in other words, appearance notice is issued and a court appearance required). You may have done so already, but best have a bucket or some other method that will catch it all.

[jessef]

First time I saw the superwinch's on a Delica.

Nice.

Jesse

[patty]

SO ALL THOSE MODS ARE PRETTY MUCH WIGGID!im wanting to do the diamond plate thing, but also right up the side panels (so they dont vibrate from speakers, and i love how your roof rack hugs the roof! How much do you think all that has cost you?

[asorensen]

How much do you think all that has cost you?

Patty, cost is a little bit hard to access on the things that I have done. Firstly, I have always been a little bit cheap (blame my Dad) but instead of letting that be a limitation I see it as a challenge. So this means that I don't (usually) undertake something unless I know that I can keep the costs down. This means plenty of researching and planning which takes time and energy which people look at differently. For some, since time is money, they would rather pay full price or have someone else do the work. Others, and I count myself in this group, enjoy the process. Making and creating has been something I have done since I was kid and my philosophy is, " If somebody else has made it, I can to."

Secondly, I have found an excellent source for materials and I alluded to this in the post. Recyclers, are a great place to find "interesting" items. I have found all kinds of great things that have enabled me to proceed on a project where normally I would have found cost prohibitive. Case in point, I priced out the aluminum checker plate new and found it was going to be about $260 for the piece needed. This put a halt on the project until I happened upon the perfect piece at the recyclers which ended up being closer to $40.

Finally I am fortunate in the tools and shop which are at my disposal without which I wouldn't even be able to get started on some of the ideas that I have.

If I attempted to itemize things it might look like this:

Roof rack - Metal($120 the big expense was the expanded aluminum which I bought new to finish the project)
- Hardware ($20)
- paint ($10)
- lights ($20 Princess Auto Specials)


TV/DVD - ($190- $20)
- Inverter ($25 times three! I have fried two already. Once trying to make coffee with the power out, once trying to power the vacuum. Stupid, I know!)
- Bracket basically free ($5)

Rad Guard
- also almost free ($5)

Camper Unit
- Sink and stove salvaged from a junk yard ($50)
- Propane tank ($25)
- Birch plywood ($30)
- Metal Stainless/Aluminum ($25)
- Miscellaneous ($30)

Checker Plate Rear
- ($40)

Bumper
- Metal costs ($15)

Shackles
-Metal costs ($5)
- Hardware ($10)

Veggie System
- Racor 12v heated filter ($300)
- valve ($100)
- Tank ($50 of aluminum)
- Sender unit and Gauge ($35)
- Inline Stainless coolant heater ($5)
- Fuel line and extras ($50)

That about covers the modifications that I have shown for a grand total of: ($1235)

Again you do have to remember that these just the basic material costs and I haven't accounted for my time! Also I am not a professional, at anything in fact, so sometimes take me a long time or don't even work out at all (meaning waste of time and material cost)
Thanks for the interest.

Andy

[patty]

sweet, i wish i had some good scrap yards up this way. i gotta a budy with a welder, pipe bender, metal saws n grinders i should utilize them.
anyone know of some good scarp yards in the vancouver area?

[Fishtank]

Rad Guard
- also almost free ($5)

Hey Andy, you can cut that in half since that $5 was enough for two guards (geez, I still gotta send you some cashola ). And if you haven't had the opportunity I've tried mine out in DEEP snow and it worked out great . The test for it will be during the summer here and the heat.

[asorensen]

I've tried mine out in DEEP snow and it worked out great

Glad to here it worked out in the snow Ted. I am really not that worried about any type of monetary remuneration ($) but hopefully we can have a place to stay when we head through that way in the Summer. By the way how is work going?

anyone know of some good scarp yards in the vancouver area?

Patty you should check ABC Traders in Richmond (http://207.6.219.28/abc/) for decent prices on recycled metal. I have bought from them and they have much better prices then say you Metal Supermarket or the like. Good Luck.

Andy

[quadzilla]

Do you have a template for the checker plating?

[asorensen]

I do actually. But it is a piece of cardboard the same size as the interior. I have kept it around for other projects. If you lived next door I could let you trace it!
I think distance might be a problem with that idea. Let me know if I can help you further.

Andy